International Patient Services Department

The International Patient Services Department at Lurie Children’s works with patients and families outside of the United States seeking pediatric healthcare services. We’re committed to providing family-centered care to all patients. Our department assists families through every step of receiving care at our institution, from referrals to financial assistance, through treatment and discharge. We also prepare families for their journeys home.

Sophisticated Technology & Experienced Specialists

As a world renowned leader in pediatric healthcare, Lurie Children’s has established medical and surgical leadership that provide cutting-edge and thorough treatments for the most complex pediatric needs, including:

Our partnership with Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab​ (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), which are adult care-focused institutions, allow us to serve all of the needs of our international patients as well as their family members.

Interpreting Services

We also have interpreters on staff to make sure families and doctors can easily communicate. Our team provides immediate access to interpreters through a combination of in-person, video or telephonic interpretation.

We can interpret most languages, with close to 200 languages available from any hospital phone. Our network of external language service providers have been able to successfully provide interpreters in even the rarest languages.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine currently provides immediate, interactive access via videoconferencing to virtually any of Lurie Children’s more than 1,000 pediatric specialists. This technology has been used around the world to diagnose infants with serious congenital heart diseases, interpret thousands of medical imaging exams, and help assess, stabilize and treat critically ill children.

International Adoptee Program

Our International Adoptee Program provides​ comprehensive medical evaluations, review of immunization
records, screening tests according to the child's country of birth and
appropriate diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care for any infectious
diseases the child may have contracted. Learn more about our adoptee program.

Dining, Groceries, Pharmacies & Hair Salons

​Transitioning to Home Care

Almost Home Kids
(AHK), now part of the Lurie Children’s family, cares for children with
complicated health needs by providing family training, respite care and
short-term transitional care in a home-like setting. AHK is staffed with
medical professionals and volunteers to make sure every child and their
families are prepared for the return home. The International Patient Services Department works closely with Almost Home Kids
to make the care transition process as easy as possible.